Pantheon Partners International-Technology-Assisted Performance Enhancement: Some Principles and Examples

Technology-Assisted
Performance Enhancement:
Some Principles and Examples

Dr. Charles R. Crowell
University of Notre Dame

For more than two decades now we have been actively involved in research on factors affecting job performance. Our ultimate interest in this matter is to formulate a technology of performance improvement combining an understanding of human behavior with specific methods, procedures, and tools to promote increased effectiveness and personal success in the workplace. In the course of our research, we have formulated a guiding conception called the Performance Pathway. In essence, this pathway represents a conceptual framework helpful in our efforts to organize issues and approaches related to performance improvement programs (i.e., ways to get employees to do enough of the right things to be successful). Let's examine this idea a little more closely.

Briefly, the performance pathway concept is derived from repeated observations that successful performance improvement strategies include two key ingredients: methods to insure the development of proper know-how for a job, and techniques to promote continued enactment of know -how under appropriate circumstances. Obviously, this implies a critical distinction between knowing how to and actually doing a job. The performance pathway is a visual representation of this distinction. As you can see, the pathway involves an interconnection between two important situations: the learning and action (or performance) environments. The former is where know how is developed; the latter is where enactment occurs. The arrows show the path an individual worker’s performance must follow if there is to be an increase in personal effectiveness on the job.

There are several obvious implications of the performance pathway for those who seek to increase worker effectiveness on the job. First, as the diagram indicates, performance improvement (i.e., greater effectiveness on the job) depends critically upon behavior change. However important knowledge states, attitudes, and motives may be, increased effectiveness on the job is achieved only through alterations in what people do and/or say. Second, a process of transfer must occur between the learning and action environments. Often this process is not automatic because the two settings may differ markedly. And, third, even if what is learned does transfer readily to the action environment, there is no guarantee new skill(s) will be performed on a regular basis. Special procedures to prompt and maintain new skill(s) in the action environment are therefore essential.

In essence, then, our research has led us to conclude that successful performance improvement programs (a) establish appropriate job-related behaviors in a learning environment so as to (b) maximize the likelihood of transfer to an action environment where, with the proper maintenance, (c) new skills will be enacted repeatedly on the job. Clearly, each of these three ingredients is a critical link in the completed performance pathway. A disruption of this pathway at any point can seriously diminish the integrity of any performance improvement plan.

Much of our recent work has been dedicated to the design, development, and evaluation of methods and procedures organizations can use to help implement performance improvement programs in their settings. Basically, we view these methods and procedures as tools to assist in the establishment of a completed performance pathway. That is, these tools help to foster the learning, transfer, and/or maintenance components of successful performance improvement plans. As such, these tools may function as learning aids, action aids, or both. We have devised the notion of a performance-enhancement system to refer to a collection of integrated learning and action tools designed to meet the particular needs of an end-user organization. Performance-enhancement systems are one way to help ensure the behavioral "health" (i.e., success) of organizations.

The specific elements needed to constitute any performance-enhancement system depend importantly upon the nature of the job(s) to be supported, along with aspects of the organization employing the system. Ideally, performance-enhancement systems are tailored specifically to the circumstances and needs of particular organizations. Often, such systems can include technological elements like computers and relevant software. Modern microcomputer technology, including multi-media elements, is an excellent way to deliver various types of learning regimens to employees (Learning tools) as well as to provide them with the ability to perform tedious and/or complex calculations or other tasks in connection with their jobs (Action tools). Computers can also be used to assist with various managerial functions such as the delivery of performance feedback and reinforcement (Manager tools) to ensure the maintenance of new skills. However, regardless of the form particular tools may take, each should be designed to take full advantage of existing knowledge and experience regarding (1) methods to maximize the development of know how, (2) efficient ways to convert knowing into doing, and (3) techniques to ensure the doing is repeated again and again, as appropriate, on the job. In diagram form, a generic performance-enhancement system might look as follows.

In the course of our work over the last two decades, we have been called upon to propose and/or develop technology-assisted performance-enhancement systems for many organizations. Some of our most comprehensive efforts have focused on various corporate sales functions. As an example, for a major pharmaceutical organization, we developed a computer-based system providing sales representatives with a set of integrated tools allowing them to better organize and track their selling efforts. Tools in this system included the following elements:

Strategic Planning. The "Sales Representative's Assistant" permitted a representative to develop and utilize specific sales plans for each client in his/her territory. These strategies represented detailed, stepwise plans for achieving particular objectives with clients by a certain time.

Call Preparation. The sales assistant enabled representatives to link their preparation for specific calls to any applicable strategic plan on file. When preparing for a particular call, strategic plans could be easily retrieved for reference and identification of specific actions that might be pertinent to the call. Further, the assistant prompted the specification of call objectives in the form of particular commitments to be sought from the customer. The system provided a pre-defined list of possible commitments, thus serving as a reminder that the ultimate task of the salesperson is to "get clients to do things," rather than "to do things for clients." Call preparation also involved specifying any relevant before-call activities to be completed and formulating a brief outline of the presentation to be made during the call.

Call Reporting. Completed calls were reported in the system by adding several pieces of information to the original plan, including specification of whether or not the desired commitment(s) was obtained, reasons for that result, and selection of relevant follow-up activities with specification of a desired completion date. The reasons-for-results aspect of the system encouraged representatives to discover and keep track of the positive perceptions of the company’s products and/or services when customers decided to "commit" as well as the nature of any objections and concerns when customers decided to "decline."

Information Management. Traditional database functions such as adding, deleting, editing, searching, and sorting client information files, strategic plans, and call histories were incorporated in the sales assistant.

Schedules and Reminders. The system supported automatic tracking of impending due dates for completion of strategic plan steps, desired next calls on clients, and scheduled follow-up activities. Once sufficient data was in the system, representatives could use this "tickler" function at the beginning of the week to largely determine their forthcoming weekly agenda.

Performance Management. Unique to the sales system, compared to commercially available territory or sales management software, was a feature that supported delivery of timely feedback to representatives about how they were doing in relation to personal sales goals and desired activity plans. This feedback feature could be selected on a weekly basis to analyze call reports and strategic plan files to generate a variety of measures related to the activities and outcomes of the previous week. Examples of these measures included:

Total calls made

Percent of call goal achieved

Percent of total calls that were planned in advance

Percent of total results obtained that achieved the desired commitments

Percent of total strategic plan steps completed to date

Overall efficiency, or a weighted average of call planning, call frequency, and call results measures.

Once calculated, these measures were retained in a file throughout the year. The system could retrieve any weekly set of measures and generate a trend graph illustrating the year-to-date weekly values for any chosen measure. In addition, monthly sales data for one or all products handled by the representative could be superimposed on these trend graphs. Sales data could also be shown in relation to the individual’s monthly sales goals. The feedback provided by these graphic capabilities of the system permitted representatives not only to track their own progress throughout the year with respect to any of the calculated measures, but also to search for overall correlations between trends of individual measures and bottom-line sales. In essence, the feedback capabilities of the system enabled representatives to explore for themselves, over time, some of the factors related to their sales success.
A three month evaluation of the "Sales Representative Assistant" in one organization revealed that positive results from calls more than doubled, strategic plan step completion increased dramatically, and a minimum of $250,000 in new business was attributed by the company to system use. Moreover, subjective evaluations from sales representatives indicated the system induced a disciplined approach to sales (e.g., "I knew the computer was going to ask me for reasons, so I had to make sure I discovered them during the call") without adding undue complexity to the task of sales itself.

We also developed a computer-based system for the sales organization of a major appliance manufacturer. This system facilitated the evolution of a salesperson’s relationship with his or her customers (i.e., retail outlets) from a product-focused interaction to a consultative partnership in which the needs of both the manufacturer and the retail outlet were addressed and met. Such a relationship increased the probability of the salesperson achieving his/her territory sales goals and of retail outlets (i.e., accounts) realizing increases in sales volume and profitability. Tools in this system included:

The Plan To Sell. The system prompted development of customized sales plans for each account, serving as the strategy for the salesperson to accomplish his/her territory sales quota and for the account to achieve specific profitability levels. The plan consisted of a specification of the name, quantity, price point, and profit margin for each product type that was recommended for display on the account’s sales floor. Recommendations were based on the sales histories of the products, the high margin that could be achieved from sale of particular product models, their fit within the manufacturer’s current lineup at the account, and their match to the features and benefits of the competitors products on the account’s sales floor. Completion of the plan was facilitated through the extensive database capabilities of the system, permitting the storage, retrieval, and manipulation of product information, account information, and sales histories.

The Account Business Assessment. The system prompted a systematic diagnosis of the sales environment at the retail outlet so as to identify factors preventing the "sell through" of products to the consumer and, consequently, the fulfillment of sales plans. By displaying specific, prompting questions on the computer screen, the system helped a salesperson work through an analysis of the account’s product display, the product knowledge and selling skills of the account's own salespeople (responsible for interacting with the consumer), the account's advertising practices as well as its promotional policies. Arising from this diagnosis was a comprehensive profile of the account’s strengths and weaknesses forming the basis for a detailed prescription of what must be done at the outlet, by the salesperson in conjunction with the principals and staff of the retail outlet, to remove obstacles to sales.

The Account Project Plan. For each diagnostic decision that could be reached through the business assessment, an exhaustive list of potential salesperson activities were identified, which if executed, could potentially improve the sales environment of the account enabling it to become a more effective vendor of the manufacturer’s products. In listing the activities specific to a particular diagnosis, the system prompted the development of a project plan that could be accomplished on one or a series of sales calls to the account. The salesperson was further prompted to provide additional detail regarding what was to be done, with whom, by when, along with the desired results of these actions. Such information provided the basis for the automated tracking and measurement of salesperson performance in a manner analogous to the previously described Sales Representative's Assistant.

Though data regarding the effects of this system on sales is forthcoming (due to the it's recent implementation), account principals have expressed satisfaction with the detailed assistance they are receiving from the salesperson to maintain/enhance the profitability of their business (especially in light of today’s aggressive marketplace). With the detailed plans provided by the salesperson, principals have reported that hard business decisions have become easier to make. The salespeople have also indicated the system information has given them more confidence in their ability to effectively interact with their customers and to offer advice that will impact the overall business of an account, thus facilitating a valuable partnership between salespeople and their customers.
Obviously, the above examples of technology-assisted performance enhancement systems may be totally irrelevant for your organization. However, they do illustrate how technology can be used to assist in the implementation of performance-enhancement systems intended to maximize employee success. Also, they underscore the need for evaluation of effectiveness. Organizations should not be content merely to develop tools for their employees. They should also be prepared to evaluate the success of any program that is implemented. Evaluation can provide the organization with valuable information on the cost-effectiveness various approaches to human resource development. This in turn can refine and extend an organization's ability to produce better and more effective performance-enhancement tools.

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